Morris p



(No Model.)

M. P. BRAY. DRESS STAY.

No. 454,587. Patented June 23,1891.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MORRIS P. llRAY, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

DRESS-STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,587, dated June 23, 1891.

' Application filed April 2'7, 1891. Serial No. 390,600. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, MORRIS P. BRAY, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new Improvement in Dress-Stays, and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a perspective view of a portion of a stay complete, showing transverse section of same; Fig. 2, an inside view of the broader strip in perspective, showing end view of the same; Fig. 3, a perspective view of the narrow strip from the outside, showing end view of the same;and Fig. 4, a face view of the two strips as stitched together.

This invention relates to an improvement in the manufacture of that class of dress-stays in which the elastic material, as bone, steel, &c., is introduced into a longitudinal pocket or strip of a width. greater than the steel, and so as to produce a projecting edge of fabric at each side the stay, by means of which edge the stay may be secured to the dress.

lleretofore the strip to form the pocket for the stay has been woven so as to leave a longitudinal pocket or space within which tointroduce the stay, the two edges being woven solid so as to produce a projecting edge at each side, forming a flap by means of which the stay may be secured to the dress by running a line of stitches through one or both projecting flaps. The production of such a woven strip is expensive, and if of a material to produce a nice finish, as silk, the cost is too great for practical stays.

The object of my invention. is to produce the stay complete, so that it may be made from various materials at a considerably reduced cost over which the same quality could be produced by weaving; and the invention consists in two strips of material, the one strip of considerably greater width than the width of the stay, its two edges turned inward to substantially double the material, and produce a fold at both edges, the second strip of fabric doubled in like manner, but of a width narrower than the first doubled strip and laid longitudinally thereon. Lines of stitches run through the narrower doubled strip, near its edges, and through corresponding points of the broader strip, so as to form a pocket between the two lines of stitches to receive the stay, and leave the doubled edge of the broader strip projecting to form a flap by which the stay may be secured, as more fully hereinafter described. The strips from which the pocket is formed are cut from the fabric in long lengths, and in a suitable folder the strips are doubled at both edges, the edges being turned inward so as to form substantially a double thickness in the two strips, one strip being considerably wider than the other, and the narrowerstrip somewhat greater than. the width of the stay to be introduced into the pocket.

In Fig. 2, A represents the broad strip,which is doubled at its edges, so as to produce a smooth fold a, the folds being turned inward, and preferably so as to bring their edges near together, as seen in Fig. 2. The second strip B, as seen in Fig. 3, is in like manner doubled, so as to produce the folded edges b, the edges of the strip turned inward, and preferably nearly meet upon the folded side. The width of the strip B is considerably narrower than the strip A,and the two strips are laid together, the folded edges both inward or toward each other, as seen in Fig. 1, and then lines of stitches c are run through near the doubled edges of the narrower strip and through the doubled broader strip, so as to leave a projecting flap d at each side, this flap being formed by the greater width of the strip A. Thus united, a pocket is formed between the two lines of stitches to receive the stay 0. This stay may be of steel or other suitable material, and in the make-up of the pocket the two strips may be automatically folded and run into a sewing-machine carrying two needles, so as to produce the two connecting lines of stitches, and at the same time the stay 0 may be applied so as to produce a continuous covered stay from the two folded strips of material, leaving the double edge of one strip projecting at each side to form a flap as a means for securing the stay to the dress. Thus prepared, the strip may be out to the requisite lengths and applied in the usual manner for applying this class of stays-that is to say, the covered stay being From the foregoingit will be understood I" do not claim, broadly, a dress-stay composed of a fabricated pocket having a projecting flap at each edge by which it may be secured; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of two strips A B, each composed of a strip of fabric doubled at each edge, the one double strip being narrower than the other, the two strips having their folds both inward, and stitched together by lines of stitches run near the two edges of the narrow strips, so as to secure the two strips together and leave a projecting flap at the edges, with one or more stays 0 within the pocket formed by the union of the two strips, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I" have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MORRIS P. BRAY. Witnesses:

FRED. 0. EARLE, LILLIAN D. KELSEY. 

